Grammy Award Winner, Bad Bunny, Set To Make Lead Acting Debut In Movie ‘Porto Rico’

Grammy Award Winner, Singer, Benito Martínez Ocasio, alias Bad Bunny, is set to take on his first lead acting role in the Caribbean western historical drama ‘Porto Rico,’ alongside Javier Bardem and Edward Norton.

The film is recounted as a love letter to Puerto Rico, the 31-year-old’s home. It will be directed by 33-time Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning rapper René Pérez, popularly known as Residente.

The movie is partially based on the life of José Maldonado Román, a late-19th- and early-20th-century revolutionary.

“This film is a reaffirmation of who we are – told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.

“I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child. Puerto Rico’s true history has always been surrounded by controversy,” Residente told the media.

“Bringing him and Bad Bunny together to tell the true story of Puerto Rico’s roots is going to be like a flame finding the stick of dynamite that’s been waiting for it,” Norton remarked.

The film, whose executive producer is Alejandro G Iñárritu, will also star Viggo Mortensen. Since 2023, the screenplay has been co-written by Residente and Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris.

The film is motivated by Maldonado Román, known as Águila Blanca (White Eagle), who fought against Spanish colonialism in Puerto Rico and led a revolt against the authorities.

Bad Bunny has previously featured in supporting roles, including Brad Pitt’s movie ‘Bullet Train’ and Austin Butler’s crime comedy ‘Caught Stealing’.

This debut lead role comes at the height of the rapper’s career. Bad Bunny won album of the year at the Grammy Awards and recently gave an outstanding performance at the Super Bowl halftime show, with over 104 million views on YouTube. Again, just on Wednesday, 18 February, he was named the fifth-most-popular artist in the world in 2025 by the global music body, IFPI.